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How to Build Wall-Mounted DIY Cubby Shelves Post Preview: You will see how you can build your own DIY cubby shelves and mount them to the wall.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned in all of our DIY endeavors it’s that you can do a lot with a little bit of space.

Using just one corner of a room, I’ve been revamping my wife’s craft corner with three things: pegboard, wall-mounted cubby shelf, and some simple wall shelves.

In our previous post, I shared how we mounted the pegboard, and in this post, I’ll be sharing how I built the cubby shelves. Afterward, I’ll share how I built the simple shelves (which are a gem as they hold 8 fabric storage bins!).

How to Build Homemade Cubby Shelves

My wife was really excited about the cubbies, knowing they would bring a lot of organization and storage to her craft room.

She had so many paints and other crafts that would fit perfectly onto cubby shelves. With cubbies being open, it makes things easy to find and quickly grab. Since everything is on display, it’s natural to keep it organized.

So, I did some research and came across two popular designs for cubby shelving. The first design used pocket hole screws to hold the cubby shelves in place.

The second design used routed dados for the shelves. I went back and forth about which design I wanted to use.

The pocket hole method was the fastest and easiest to do. I am also a huge fan of pocket holes.

However, I felt that these cubbies needed a bit more craftsmanship. After all, they were going to be in the same room as our recent window seat bookshelf project. So I opted for the routed dado design.

As for the wood, I normally just use the common pine boards sold at Home Depot for most of my projects.

However, the cubby shelves needed an upgrade. Common pine boards are full of surface imperfection and knots. So I opted for their “select” pine boards. It was twice the price of the standard boards, but there was a huge difference in the quality.

I was excited to work with wood of this quality. It was a rare treat for me.

Cutting the Dados for the Cubby Shelves

Now on to the construction of the cubby storage shelves. First, I had to calibrate my router to the correct depth setting. I used a scrap piece of wood and made repeated cuts with varying depths until I got the 3/16” depth required for my dados:

Next, I outlined the dados with a pencil and ruler, and clamped down a piece of scrap wood for a router guide.

Now let the routing begin:

I was a little disappointed with my first dado. I’ve done many dado cuts in the past, but for some reason, this one was slightly wavy. The edges were not perfectly straight like I was accustomed to.

I started to worry that something was wrong with the router. Then after closer inspection, I realized that my scrap wood guide fence had small imperfections along the surface.

Thinking this might be the root of my problem, I swapped out the wooden guide fence with a metal ruler, as seen below:

I re-ran the router through the cut and success! The wavy edges went away.

I guess scrap wood isn’t the solution to everything.

I had to be careful using my ruler as a fence for the rest of the cuts though. It provided a very small surface for the router to move along. The router risked slipping over the edge of the ruler and ruining the boards.

So very carefully, I cut all the boards and produced the following:

Here’s a top-down view showing how I cut dados on both sides of some of the boards:

The boards with dados on both sides were going to sit vertical inside the cubby shelf. Then square shelves would be inserted into the dados to form the cubes.

Adjusting the Cubby Design

At this point, I took a look back at my design, and suddenly remembered something that I had forgotten.

Eileen wanted some of the individual cubbies to be long enough to hold standard printer sized sheets (8.5×11) for her large card stock collection.

I had intentionally gotten 10” wide boards for the cubbies to account for this. However, I forgot to factor this requirement into the rest of the design.

The dados were all cut to allow perfectly square cubbies, approximately 8”x9”x9.25”. This would result in the 8.5×11 sheets hanging off the edge slightly.

I didn’t want this to happen, so I needed to make an adjustment to the design. With the dados already cut, I really didn’t want to waste any wood. So I thought really hard and came up with the adjusted design below:

Two of the vertical boards could be cut right where the bottom dado groove was made. Then a longer horizontal shelf could be inserted spanning two cubbies.

This would result in the two end cubbies at the bottom being long enough to hold the 8.5×11 sheets easily.

It also added a nice aesthetic touch to the design, breaking up the repeating squares. Both Eileen and I were very happy about the design modification.

Assembling the Cubby Storage Shelves

With that little hiccup out of the way, I proceeded to assemble the shelves. I used deck screws, construction adhesive and 90 degree wood clamps. Also, I used a countersinking bit with my drill for the deck screws. I didn’t want to risk the wood splitting.

Here is a picture showing the wood clamps in action:

Construction adhesive was essential to a sturdy design that wouldn’t wobble over time:

Here I have the 4 main vertical boards secured in place:

The cubby shelves are starting to take form here:

I used construction adhesive for all the inside shelves too, I didn’t want them moving in the dado grooves over time. I also used some deck screws where possible too (like on the end pieces).

Here is some more progress made on the cubbies (see how I also had to use some bar clamps to pull the inside shelves tightly into the dados):

Using Ratchet Straps

When all the inside shelves were placed into the dados, I saw that the top measurement of the cubby shelf didn’t match the bottom. Little gaps here and there in the dados were adding up and making the top of the cubby wider than the bottom by about an inch.

When I squeezed in one pair of dados with a bar clamp to eliminate a gap, another gap would open up slightly somewhere else. It was getting a little frustrating.

Then inspiration hit me. Maybe I could use some ratchet straps to pull in all the shelves tightly at the same time. It seemed a little silly at the time to use ratchet straps for this project, but I gave it a shot:

Guess what? The ratchet straps worked.

As I tightened each ratchet, I could hear the satisfying creak of the dados squeezing together tightly.

I checked the upper measurement of the shelf and it was finally in agreement with the bottom.

I secured the final top board and attached some strategically placed boards in the rear to help mount the cubbies to wall studs. The cubby build was pretty much complete.

Here is the cubby shelf so far. It looked so nice – and Eileen loved it. It was the perfect answer to her craft room organization and storage problem.

All that remained now was to wood putty the screw holes and paint.

I used one coat of primer and one coat of cabinet enamel paint. I had some enamel paint left over from previous projects, and thought it would be perfect for the cubbies.

Since I didn’t want items sticking to regular paint over time, the enamel based paint would eliminate this concern.

Installing the Cubbies

With the pegboard already mounted to the wall. I next needed to hang the cubby storage.

Unfortunately, the size and weight of the cubbies was too much for me to just hold it against the wall while I attached it. Eileen was pregnant at the time, so she couldn’t help me out.

So I got creative and I attached a temporary 2×4 to the wall studs for me to rest the cubby on. This would allow me to position it perfectly without breaking my back. It would result in some small screw holes in the drywall after removal, but I could easily patch that up with drywall compound.

Here’s a picture with the temporary brace in place (I made sure it was perfectly level):

Here is the cubby storage shelf mounted to the wall:

Cubby Organization Tips

Here is the completed shelf – including Eileen’s organization.

She used the cubby shelf for card stock, construction paper, and felt organization. That emptied an entire cart worth of messy piles. She used little bins and mason jars to organize things like paper clips, tacks, paint brushes, pom-poms, kids scissors, and popsicle sticks.

She does a ton of kids crafts with our son, including lots of card-making and letter-writing. With this cubby organization, she can easily access his collection of stickers which are grouped in a bin as well as card stock and envelopes.

Craft Corner Organization Pictures

Here are some final pictures of the craft room organization. The project was comprised of three parts: the pegboard, the cubby shelf, and the simple wall shelves.

And most impressively…

With the amount of new storage created with these three things, Eileen was able to empty out tons of storage containers. She emptied three storage towers, one cart, and one dresser. She completed underestimated the amount of space all of the new craft room storage gave her.

Here’s the impressive ensemble of containers she emptied with this project:

I was sure happy to see that black dresser emptied out. I tossed it to the curb that very day. It had been in closets for the past eight years and before that was my old college furniture.

It’s such a big deal because thousands of items go on sale, so you can get great deals on things you need. We’ve gotten some ah-mazing deals on tools and craft supplies, and we want to share them all with you!

We will be updating this post throughout tonight and tomorrow, so be sure to keep checking for great deals.

When we moved into our new home, we had an amazing backyard, but it was missing one thing – a clear path from the patio into the backyard.

The patio was somewhat secluded with a row of bushes around its perimeter. To get out to the grass, you had to use a little rock path.

Right away, Eileen mentioned how this “walkway” wouldn’t work for our family. The rocks were uneven and the ground had a sharp decline.

On top of that, the pathway was so narrow, as the bushes had grown bigger than probably anticipated. She was worried about our little one tackling those rocks or our dog scampering through the bushes each time he went out.

Eileen had some solid points, so a new walkway got added to the list.

Pictured below is the best before picture we have. Unfortunately, it doesn’t give much of a picture of the little rock pathway, nor does it give a good feel of how large the bushes had grown and just how narrow the walkway was. Better than no picture?

Planning the New Walkway

The solution we decided on was to relocate one of the bushes to another part of the yard, and to install a boardwalk type pathway into the yard from the patio.

Transplanting the bush was easy.

I just dug around the root system until I was able to lift the plant out of the ground. I dug a comparable hole nearby and plopped the plant in, packing down the dirt and giving it a good watering.

We filled the old hole with dirt, and raked the ground really well to prep it for the new walkway.

I predesigned the walkway on TinkerCad to get a feel for how it would come together and also how much wood we would need to purchase.

The patio was at a higher elevation than the yard, so there was going to be a slope to the walkway.
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Here’s a picture of the 3D plan for the walkway (grey part being the patio, and the green being the grass):

With most outdoor projects, the walkway was to be built with all pressure-treated wood.

This was especially important for the walkway as it was going to be in direct contact with the ground allowing easy access to bugs.

For the structure, I planned to bury four 4 x 4 posts at each corner of the walkway.

The upper and lower posts were to be connected with a 2 x 4 support beam which the boardwalk planks would screw right into.

Here’s a picture of underneath the walkway, showing the support beams:

How to Make a Wood Walkway

Construction went smoothly for the walkway. I first cut the corner posts to length. Then using a post hole digger, I dug 2 ft deep holes for each post.

At the bottom of each hole, I packed down a layer of gravel to provide a sturdy foundation for the posts. Then I just dropped in the posts and filled in the surrounding space with dirt.

I also used an 8lb tamper to pack down the dirt really well around the posts.

I then cut the support beams from 2 x 4s and screwed them into the buried posts.

Afterwards, I cut the boardwalk planks from 2 x 6s and screwed them into the support beams.

Finally, to weather-proof the project, we put down two coats of deck stain.

The wooden walkway construction was now complete.
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Pictured below is the completed boardwalk, with the family member that uses it most 😉

Here’s another shot, which shows a little more of how the wooden pathway connects the patio to the backyard. It also shows the slope.

Using the Wooden Walkway

A year later, we are still so pleased with how the wooden walkway turned out.

It was the perfect solution to the narrow path problem we once had. It’s perfectly sized, regarding its width and its steepness. Toddlers can handle the slope very well.

It’s very sturdy and it doesn’t get slippery in the rain or the snow. Slipping has not been a concern; however it is down the road, I can always adhere some grip tape to the wood.

Best of all, the boardwalk did not cost much or take very long to make. We spent under $50 and completed the project in one day.

If you are looking to build a wood walkway for your yard, it’s budget-friendly, sturdy, and holds up great. You won’t be disappointed!

Eileen was determined to rid the porch of that 1980s blue since the day we moved in. ​She was a teacher at the time, and on her first afternoon of summer, she was out painting the porch white. This was only the beginning of the porch update – as gorgeous white porch railings were on the horizon too.

Here’s a before picture of the blue porch.

Painting the porch was a quick job, and as you can see in the below picture, the white made such a difference.

In addition to painting the porch, Eileen also painted the cabinet that housed the electric meter and Fios box. Before it was blue – so it drew your attention – yet, she painted it a creamy white color to make it blend in more.

​It was only about a day’s work, and it looked great. However, something was missing.

Planning the Porch Railings

We wanted to liven up the front of our home even more. We thought a little more privacy would be nice too, so we decided to install porch railings.

Eileen was pregnant at the time, so she would often walk around the neighborhood with our dog. During their walks, she made it her mission to look at other styles of porch railings, deciding what she liked and how to make the porch railings work for our home.

Eventually we settled on a look and height for the porch railings that we thought would work well with our home.

Two Approaches to Installing Porch Railings

I considered two approaches to installing the porch railings. The first was prefabricated handrails sold at Home Depot. These were 6 ft painted railing segments, prefabricated or ready to bolt onto the posts. Using prefabricated porch railings would be the fastest way to install porch railings.

The second approach was buying the individual porch railing posts and handrails and constructing the segments myself.

I decided against the first porch railing method. Buying in increments of 6 ft meant a chunk of the prefabs would be wasted when fitted on our home.

Building the segments myself meant I could fine tune the cost to exactly the dimensions allowed by our porch, and this porch railing method yielded the cheapest outcome.

The downside was that more labor would be involved with installing the porch railings; however, I was never the one to back down from some good old hard work.

Choosing Materials for the Porch Railings

I measured the distances between my porch posts then off we went to Home Depot. We putzed around looking at porch railing posts and found a style we liked.

Then we looked at the handrails. We technically could have just gone with a 2 x 4 for the handrail, but we wanted a little more pizzazz.

Ultimately, we went with a handrail with some decorated grooves, and it came with slots for the rail posts, eliminating the need for me to space the posts out myself.

Before leaving the store, I picked up some galvanized L brackets to attach the handrails to the porch railing posts, and some 2 x 4s to serve as a base for the railings.

How to Install Porch Railings

With the porch railing materials ready to go and a free weekend ahead, I was ready to start installing the wood porch railings.

Constructing Porch Railing Segments

The next step in the porch railing installation was to construct 3 railing segments.

Two of the longer wooden segments faced the street, while a short segment on the side connected the masonry wall to the end post.

Porch railing construction was fairly simple. I used exterior deck screws to attach the handrail to the railing posts, and the pre-cut slots in the handrail on the individual posts definitely sped things up.

​I actually constructed the segments in the living room while we were catching up on our shows. See picture below of our porch railing install:

Attaching the Segments to Porch Posts

Now it was time to attach the segments to the porch railing posts.

I cut some 2 x 4 squares to serve as “feet” for the segments. These feet were attached to the bottom of each porch post, and the segments would rest on them.

This foundation felt a lot more sturdy than simply using L brackets to mount the segments.

​See picture below (ignore the fact that the railings are already painted).

The two longer railing segments installed quickly to the porch posts.

The bottoms were secured to the 2 x 4 feet, and the handrails were secured using L brackets to the porch posts.

Mounting the Porch Railings to the Brick Wall

The short side of the wood porch railing segment took a little more time due to a wood-to-brick mount required.

My solution was to bolt a piece of 2 x 4 to the brick wall and attach the porch railing segment to that. It would act just like the opposite end of the segment where the porch post was.

My first attempt at attaching the 2 x 4 to the wall failed.

I had tried using masonry nails but they started chipping the sides of the bricks. Then I remembered the very first drill I bought was a hammer drill!

When I bought this drill, I didn’t really know what the ‘hammer’ part meant. I was naive at the time, and it sounded cool and looked awesome. So I had bought the largest drill in the store.

Of course, now, I am wiser and know that hammer drills (when the hammer mode is engaged) repeatedly, driving the bit back and forth against the surface to help penetrate really tough surfaces like masonry.

Unfortunately, I did not have any masonry bits so had to run back out to Home Depot to pick some up. Regular wood bits would fail pitifully against a hard surface like brick.

Hammer Drill to the Porch Railing Rescue

I was excited to try out my hammer drill for its actual purpose. All these years I’d been using it (very inconveniently due to its enormous size) as a regular wood drill. I got back home with my new masonry bits and pounded away at the wall.

It sounded like a jackhammer, but it got the job done very neatly and quickly. I bored some holes through the 2 x 4 straight into the wall, and used some screws to make a secure connection.

Now I had a wooden mounting point for the porch railing segment. One minor task remained, and that was to drill out a small hole at the bottom edge of the 2 x 4 mount for some existing coaxial cable to run through.

​Here’s a side picture showing where I needed to mount the shorter porch railing segment between a porch post and the masonry wall:

Painting the Porch Railings

After installing the wooden porch railings, the last step of the project was the painting. This was actually the most labor intensive part. I had to paint each individual railing post and it felt like it took forever with a brush.

Eileen normally does all of the painting on our projects, and since she was pregnant, I had to do it myself. Painting the wood porch railings would have went so quickly with a paint sprayer, but I did not have one of those.

Slowly though, the final picture started to take shape. I even repainted all the porch posts to make them pop with the railings.

​Here’s a picture of the mounted rail segments being painted:

The white wood porch rails were finally done and they looked great.

Time & Cost of Installing Porch Railings

The total cost of the front porch railing installation was only $150, and it took a weekend of work.

Not only did the front porch railings enhance the aesthetics, but they were also very functional.

We started spending a lot more time on the front porch, as the railings gave us a little more privacy and also served as a wonderful enclosure for our dog Zeus.

We simply sat at the open end, and Zeus could be free to run back and forth within the confines of the front porch.

​Below are some pictures of the front porch makeover:

Here’s a before and after of the whole front porch railing installation project. The difference was incredible – and the cost of update was beyond reasonable.

Our home got a nice upgrade with the fresh paint and front porch railings. It definitely boosted our curb appeal in a neighborhood of similar looking houses.

We were thrilled with how nice the front porch makeover looked, and so was our realtor when the time came to put the house on the market.

Check out how we sold our house in less than a week! I think the porch railings helped 🙂 ​If you have been wondering how to install porch railings, it’s a simple project that has a great pay-off.
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​I’m not exaggerating when I say that Ash and I spend most of our spare time on our home projects. We always are talking about what is next on the list or what we can get done in the windows of time we have while our son is sleeping.

My mom jokes that little elves come and work at night because she can’t believe all of the things we get done.

However, last month Ash and I had the rare opportunity to attend the Philly Home Show.

It was a nice change of pace from our usual weekends of crossing as much as we can off our to-do list, and it provided us with some nice inspiration for summer projects.

Attending the Philly Home Show

We enjoyed walking through the show, but our dream list has definitely grown! From planter boxes to infrared saunas to contests and freebies, we definitely had a fun day.

A Little Inspiration

I loved this daybed swing, and one day when I find the perfect spot for one, I’m sure Ash will build it. Maybe after he builds our dream wraparound porch 🙂

Below Ash is looking at shingles, reminiscing over the roof work he did on the shed – he really enjoyed that part of the project.

And, I’m about to step into an infrared sauna. I LOVED with it. It is, for sure, going on my dream list! Apparently infrared saunas provide a lot of healing benefits too.

I just love a brightly colored door, but the challenging part is choosing a color that works with the home’s exterior.

Yet, I don’t know if a vibrant door would work with our home’s color palette. I have to keep thinking on that one – but I loved these colors!

One of the highlights of the show was looking at the outdoor setups, like this one centered around a stone fire pit.

Maybe one day we’ll incorporate an area like this into our backyard.

We came across these gardening planters of various shapes and sizes, which align perfectly with my goal to have a garden this summer.

We’ve been eating a lot healthier and opting for organic, and it gets expensive!

Having a garden will give us easier, cheaper access to healthy foods, and it will be a good summer project for my son and me. I’m sure Ash will build me an awesome structure.

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Thanks for visiting! We are Ash and Eileen, husband and wife DIY bloggers. We love working on projects in and around our home. We hope our stories inspire you to check a few things off your project list! 🙂Read more